Review Summary: Vicious, malicious, and absolutely brilliant; Immolation's second album is a landmark in 90's death metal
With the release of their 1991 debut 'Dawn Of Possession,' Immolation had laid the foundations for something truly special. Their formula for brutally heavy riffing pierced by frequent pinched harmonics and moments where both rhythm and lead play an entirely different riff to create a foreboding, ominous atmosphere was established; the savage, extremely low vocals of Ross Dolan added an extra dimension of evil to their sound; the mixture of blast beats and frequent rapid fills was there to control a tempo that was at all times effective and vicious. Following the success of that debut within the burgeoning death metal scene, expectations were high for their 1995 follow-up, entitled 'Here In After.' The stage was set for what would be one of the finest runs of albums in the entire genre, beginning with this renowned masterpiece.
Put simply, 'Here In After' improved upon every aspect of their debut and left little doubt in the minds of many that Immolation were truly exceptional. "Nailed To Gold" opens the album in startling fashion, with confident riffing bouncing back and forth between the higher register and the low-end tremolo picking and chords chosen with surgical precision to create an atmosphere both enthralling and oppressive. The bridge to this song utilizes the aforementioned pinched harmonics with great results, sandwiched between the faster section of the song, and the pre-chorus groove and living long in the memory. The soloing here is a huge improvement on that found on 'Dawn Of Possession,' with the solo continuing for a long duration, and weaving in and out of the drum beats and guitar riffs to shine alone. In short, "Nailed To Gold" is a perfect opener, and is only expanded upon further by the seven tracks that follow.
Enough cannot be said about the quality of the riffing on this album, with the slower introduction to "I Feel Nothing" providing some perfect balance against the unforgiving extremities of the preceding title track. This song takes some time to build, allowing all of its atmospheric brilliance to seep through whilst Ross Dolan creates a blasphemous tapestry with his brutal snarl. The second where the vocals and music cut out entirely provides some of the variety and standout moments that their debut was so desperately lacking, and the way in which the riffs then proceed to build and the drumming gets faster and more intense show a renewed and improved songwriting focus. Again, the solo matches the backing track perfectly, with Robert Vigna showcasing a real knack for writing leads that are very complex and yet intellegently crafted around the rest of the instruments.
Amidst an album of such brilliance, listing one song worth recommending above the others can be a difficult chore, and yet that one track here is easy to identify. "Christ's Cage" is a bona fide classic of the genre, opening with a guitar line so lonely and haunting, yet also utterly beautiful at the same time. Taking inspiration from a particular song from the video game Doom, and then warping it to match the sound of the album, this is a career-defining moment for the band. After nearly two minutes of layering instruments whilst allowing this exquisite guitar line to ring out, a mesmerising heavier riff kicks in, and the drumming is as varied as can be expected. The vocals are truly terrifying, with the raspier higher notes during the chorus adding a fresh dimension. The solo is musical perfection, continuing the trend of stopping and then resuming to allow the riffing to seep through, and the outro is a skull-smashingly heavy passage. "Christ's Cage" closes out this album in the most phenomenal way imaginable.
Picking fault with this album is a near-impossible task, with even the production feeling absolutely essential to the overall experience. Sure, it is lacking some of the crystal clear precision of their newer albums, but the tones here are perfect for the music and serve as a form of enhancement. Yes, this album is as close to perfection as can be accomplished, with each member of the band contributing exciting ideas to an immaculate overall picture. Whilst the band went on to match this in intensity and brilliance, there is an argument to be made for this being their magnum opus.
